Current weather

Farmington landowner files suit against county

The attorney for a Farmington property owner may argue in court that the gas station his client wants to build won't cause growth, but provide a service for people who already are here.

Still a judge likely won't hear that argument for several more months, when he considers Francis Williams' complaint that his 6-acre tract in southern Oconee County doesn't have any value under its current agricultural zoning.

Williams, whose property is near the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 and Branch Road, sued Oconee County this spring, after commissioners denied a rezoning that would allow him to build a gas station. Williams planned a 14-pump truck stop and three commercial buildings.

Williams twice applied to rezone the property, drawing fierce opposition from some residents and concern from planners that the area doesn't have water to support a truck stop. Commissioners denied his latest request in March.

Oconee County officials already have responded to Williams' suit and denied all of his claims.

Williams argues in his lawsuit that the only way for him to make money off his land is to rezone it for business purposes, and the commission's actions violated his rights. "The gas station that my client wants to build will not be a cause of more growth as so many fear - the gas station he wants to build is actually a symptom of the growth that has already started," said Jeffrey Foster, Williams' Monroe-based attorney.